From a sign by the bridge: On June 8, 1882 the Board of Supervisors of Van Buren County awarded a contract to Frank Snyder and Company of Dayton, Ohio for stonework abutments and piers at a cost of $7.50 per cubic yard. The superstructure of the bridge was awarded to King Iron Bridge and Manufacturing Company of Cleveland, Ohio for the price of $31.oo per lineal foot. (Five spans of 145 feet long and 16 feet wide.) A tax of 1 ½ percent was levied upon the taxable property of Henry Township to pay for the brige.

The bridge was operated and maintained by the Van Buren County Road Department until 1985 as a vehicular bridge. Ownership of the bridge was transferred to the County Conservation Department on April 1, 1986.

In 1994, the Bentonsport Improvement Association and the following donors provided funds for construction of a pedestrian walkway: Individual bridge plank donors, Pathfinders RC&D, Van Buren Foundation, Hoaglin Foundation, & State Historical Society of Iowa.

All labor and materials were contracted locally with the contract for construction of the walkway being awarded to Smith Seeding Company for $42,306. Total costs for this project exceeded $100,000. This bridge is the oldest truss span bridge existing across the Des Moines River.